SENIOR SCHOOL
An
eventful
life
Senior School Science teacher, Gemma Haddleton, has certainly
had an eventful life, reaching the pinnacle of success in Eventing
during her time training with the Olympic team in Germany.
It is not uncommon for little girls to
become horse crazy at some stage, and I
was no different. At the age of six, I wanted
nothing more than a pony, and whilst my
parents were convinced it was going to be
a phase, I must have said something right,
as they made the commitment to a life
of early mornings, no free weekends and
the country lifestyle to let me and my two
younger sisters live our dreams.
It didn’t take long for me to realise that I
loved jumping and the adrenaline rush I
got from going fast, and so eventing was
the obvious progression as I moved into
competitive riding.
Eventing is the equine equivalent of
the triathlon and probably the most
comprehensive equestrian sport, combining
the disciplines of dressage, show jumping
and cross-country. It has a history of being
a popular spectator sport that offers
genuine excitement for both the spectators
and competitors. Originating as a race
from Berlin to Vienna it was improved by
the French in the 1800’s and called ‘Raid
militaire’, a training event for cavalry horses.
With growing popularity across Europe it
became an official Olympic event in 1912,
and in 1964 women entered the sport.
Equestrian sports continue to be the only
international sporting competitions in which
34
men and women compete against one
another on an even playing field.
After completing my Bachelor of Science,
my coach suggested that I spend six
months in Europe training and travelling
to competitions, experiencing the eventing
scene on the international stage.
Through a close family friend I managed to
line up a place in a German stable, riding
and training under elite German eventing
Above and right: Gemma with TSF Karat.
however, this is actually quite common
amongst the top Australian and New
Zealand riders. Unlike Australia, in Europe
and the UK, Eventing is a huge sport with
a rich history, and as such there is a lot of
sponsorship, horse owners and big prize
money associated with the competitions.
Also, four of the top six competitions in the
It didn’t take long for me to feel like I was
living my dream, and after only six weeks
I realised I wasn’t coming home any time soon.
rider Kai-Steffen Meier, and Grand Prix
Dressage rider Miriam Becher. It didn’t
take long for me to feel like I was living my
dream, and after only six weeks I realised I
wasn’t coming home any time soon. I called
my father and organised to sell my horses in
Australia and I was soon on the hunt for my
next superstars.
It may sound odd for an Australian rider to
move to Germany to improve the chances
of making an Australian Olympic team,
world are held in Europe, attracting tens
of thousands of spectators and riders from
all over the world. For these reasons many
of the world’s top riders base themselves
in Europe or the UK, allowing them to
compete at huge international competitions
every weekend.
My base in Germany turned out to be one
of the most central European bases and
because of that we were in a different
country nearly every weekend. In 10-12